At the NBA China Games, appearances by Jackie Chan and David Beckham drew attention—but the real spotlight fell on AI-powered devices showcased at the sidelines.
Unexpectedly, the star of the event wasn’t a celebrity athlete, but a pair of earbuds and two models of smart glasses.
Recent NBA China Games held in Macao attracted fans focused on the court action. However, reporters on site observed that new AI hardware from Qwen—specifically the Qwen AI clip-on earbuds and Qwen AI smart glasses—were also unveiled during the event. Andy Yao, chairman of Alibaba Group, was seen testing these devices firsthand.
Starting with the earbuds: this marks Qwen’s first AI-enabled earpiece, designed as a clip-on model that rests on the outer ear rather than inserting into the ear canal. The product features high-end specifications, including audio tuning co-developed with Bose. It supports real-time face-to-face translation, AI-powered note-taking, and voice-activated tasks.
The translation function proves particularly practical for frequent international travelers attending games or exhibitions. When encountering foreign-language speech, the device instantly converts it into Chinese—eliminating the need to consult a smartphone for dictionary lookups.
Turning to the glasses: the newly displayed N1 series smart glasses support first-person perspective recording and object recognition. Whatever the wearer sees is captured by the built-in camera.
Even more notable is the N1 Pro variant, which incorporates eye-tracking technology and iris-based authentication for payments. In essence, the glasses can identify the user through their unique iris pattern. Future transactions could potentially be completed without retrieving a mobile phone.
Live sports venues are inherently crowded and dynamic—settings where translation, video capture, and instant documentation are consistently valuable functions.
Pre-orders for these products have already opened. Official launch and sales dates are set for October 13. Further details will be disclosed within days, requiring no extended wait.
For consumers, having additional choices remains a positive development. AI is no longer confined to smartphone interfaces—it is now integrating into wearable devices such as earbuds and glasses.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1878652164929552/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.